wilting flowers
by izzthewolf
Summary: Katniss has died in the hunger games. Prim is out for revenge. Cato won the hunger games. And cato's brother wants to be just like him. So when cato's brother is reaped, prim has a plan. To survive and kill. All at the same time. prim was once a fresh innocent flower. But her innocence is dying. She is just a wilting flower... can she survive? read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Prims POV**

It is the last night. Only three remain. My sister is one of them. My name is Primrose Everdeen. And my sister promised to win for me. I sit on the couch and watch, my breath not daring to escape my parted lips. I silently reach for gale's hand. And in his shaking grasp I feel the terror that courses through my veins. It is dark in the living room, the only light cast from a flickering television screen. The hunger games. Every time I hear those words a surge of anger and fear runs through me. And now my nightmare is coming to life. My sister is running through a pool of her own blood, fear etched into her grime-covered face. And I silently will her to keep on running.

She has seen so much. She has watched people just drop dead. She has held them as they died, sent the killing arrow into their bodies. And they are barely older than me. Just children. Dead. And my sister has to live with the sight of their dead body, have her mind stamped with one word. _Murderer. _

She did the bravest thing I have ever seen when she volunteered for me. And if she dies it will be my fault. I will be a murderer. Not in a direct way. But that makes it worse. I will not get the hatred and the glares that a murderer would get. Only false sympathy masking their inner thoughts. She is my sister, she never did anything. Ever. She is my big sister. I need her to live. She has to live.

Only three of them live. Only two people away from victory. And the mutts. I noticed before most the connection with the dead. The cold dead eyes staring out from the shaking form of a beast. Pure animal rage. Nothing left of anything close to human empathy. Just cold, burning rage.

They clamber up the cornucopia. Katniss almost falls. But Peeta catches her. He looks at her. He says something the camera can't quite pick up. But she looked up at him, and then determination flashes in her eyes. She stands with shaking hands. And takes a deep breath. But she turns, and so does he. And a hand rises behind him, and takes hold of his neck. And hauling himself up is Cato. He is smiling, with the cruel insane rage of a killer made too young. He is crying, with too many bodies made cold because of him. He is broken. But he does not let go. He holds on tighter.

She takes aim. Her hand shaking on the bow. She is crying. And the arrow releases. But it does not hit Cato. It buries itself in Peeta. And he falls back, but as he falls tears stream down his face. And as he lies under the stars I hear him whisper,

'Goodbye katniss everdeen.'

Then the mutts swarm over his lifeless body.

She screams, and breaks down. She falls to her knees. Her sobs are snatched away by the breeze. Cato walks towards her.

'Get up and fight'. He says.

She just stares into space, the tears flowing silently down her face.

'He never even knew. I didn't even tell him,' she looks up at Cato. 'He never even knew I loved him.'

'Get up and fight.'

She looks at him and shakes her tear stained head.

'No.'

'JUST FIGHT ME. FINISH THIS.'

'No more.'

She throws down her bow.

'No more fighting.' She looks up and whispers, 'never again.'

Then Cato laughs. And throws her to the mutts. And the camera flicks to her dying face.

'No more death.'

Then her silver eyes glaze over.

And katniss everdeen, my big sister. The only person who ever understood me,

_Lies unmoving on the ground._

And then the canon fires.


	2. Chapter 2

**1 year later… Cato's little brother's POV**

Today is the reaping. I am thirteen years old, and ready to fight. Ready to win. My older brother won last year. Threw that stupid seam girl to the mutts. I laughed as he did it. I couldn't sleep for excitement last night. If I'm not reaped I'm going to volunteer. Be just like my older brother. Be like Cato. Actually be worth something to mum and dad. Be somebody. Just this once.

My parents never cared for me much. Just for Cato. Because he's bigger, and stronger and better at everything. He's just worth more than me. That's the way the world works. I want to be like him. To show them that I'm worth something, anything. Just to get them to glance my way. Maybe get them to feel something approaching pride for me. But I shouldn't get my hopes up. I've learnt that from experience. The whole of district two will expect me to be like him. To win. I intend to live up to their expectations. Or die trying. That's the way the world works.

I walk through the door and go to the bathroom. I strip off my sweaty tracksuit. I've been at fighting practice. I admire the bruise I got on my stomach from where my opponent tried to knock me out. And then I had grabbed his head and smashed it. He had to go to hospital. Punching him, it felt good. Really, really good. Like sadistically happy laughter good. I smile every time I think of it. I'd won the tournament we had been having.

I'm still wearing my medal. I carefully remove it and place it by the sink. And then I step into the shower. The water cools my burning skin, wipes away the blood and sweat. My hair hangs in tendrils around my face. I could have stayed there forever. But the reaping is soon. And I wouldn't miss it for the world. So I step out and dry off.

I look down at the bruise again. It is a massive splodge of blacky blue on my toned, tan stomach. It's worse than I thought. But still not worth bothering about. I pull on a pair of smart, black trousers, and a light blue button down shirt. I look in the mirror. A tall, athletic looking teenager stares back at me. My eyes are a clear blue; my hair blonde but slightly longer and more tousled than it had been last year. I look respectable. So I walk out the bathroom, and to the town square.

They take my blood. It doesn't hurt; I just merrily saunter down to my area. All my friends beam at me, excitedly chatting about who they think is going to get picked. We make bets, we laugh and chat. But the second the film begins to play, silence falls. The film is not a joke. When it is over, we all stay silent, out of respect.

And soon enough the girl is being picked.

'Mai Bayle'

And I gasp. Just as all the other boys in a one-mile radius do. She is the most beautiful being that has ever walked this earth. Her blonde hair falls in a silky curtain just below her shoulders, her blue eyes are filled with purity and innocence and unknowing beauty. Her face is pale in a way that can only be described as glowing. She is fairly tall and slim and moves with such grace. She looks about twelve or thirteen. She looks terrified. She looks like she doesn't want to kill. Like she is too innocent, to perfect to go into the hunger games. Like she has done nothing to fate or anybody, never done a thing wrong. It's a good thing somebody volunteered for her. Because I don't think I would've been able to kill something of such innocence.

A girl of about fifteen steps forward. Her hair is pure black and straight. Her eyes the same colour as mai's. Except her eyes are filled with darkness and rage and anger. She is pale, and could be described as beautiful, if the emotion in her eyes didn't scare me so much. She moves with the same grace as mai, the same kind of build but much taller.

I realize with a jolt she is mai's sister. Her name is Lana. And instantly I know I have to watch out for her. She is not afraid to kill. I realize I've seen that scenario before, in a way. The year Cato won. The girl and her sister from district twelve. But that's all over now. And I push it from my mind. The boy is being called.

'Blaine Parkinson'.

It's not me. I can't believe it's not me. A tall slim brown haired boy swaggers forward. But before he reaches the podium I burst forward.

'I volunteer'. I say, with powerful confidence. The boy looks back at me. And calmly walks back and sits down. I stare back at him. I expected him to fight, to curse at me. But he just mouths 'thank you'. Why is he thanking me? I get to fight for glory. Not him. But I shake off my confusion and stroll purposefully to the podium. The girl glares at me. She really would be beautiful if she didn't show her anger so much. I sigh. It's a shame when pretty girls don't allow their beauty to shine through.

The goodbyes fly bye. No tears are shed. No sadness. And all of a sudden I'm sitting on a beautiful train, gathered around a television to watch the reaping. The capitol anthem finishes and I eagerly sit forward.

_Time to meet my competition._


	3. Chapter 3

**Cato's little brother's POV (in case your wondering, his name is Luke)**

I stare intently at the screen. Waiting for the presenters to stop talking. I cannot wait to see what I'm up against. And finally the image of district one flickers on to the screen.

_It's begun._

The girl was typically district one. Fair with big blue eyes and a pretty smile. And of course she was gorgeous. Typical.

The boy was pretty much the same. You could practically see the girls drooling over him. I roll my eyes.

I didn't pay much attention to district two. I mean, I've already seen it once. The only part that dragged my eyes back to the screen was mai. God she was beautiful.

Three was not particularly memorable. A boy and a girl about fourteen, dark hair and dark eyes. Quite tanned.

Four caught my eyes. The boy was huge. He was tall and muscular and was taller than anybody else there. I have to look out for him. I don't know what it was but the girl just stuck in my mind.

She looked about twelve with thick brown hair cut so it just fell past her shoulder. Her nose was small and freckled and turned up slightly at the end. It suited her face. She had a slight butt-chin and greeny blue eyes. She was pretty but her face shouldn't have been memorable.

But it just stuck in my mind. I felt like she might be important. I just had a feeling that I should look out for her. It was something about the way she moved. Or the way she looked at the camera and for a second looked like she might be blaming it. I just don't know. All I know for sure is her name is lily.

Five was more than ordinary. Small mousy fourteen year old girl, and a fifteen year old boy who could blend into any crowd with ease.

Six was two dark haired sixteen year olds with bright green eyes. The girl looked like she was flirting with every boy she walked past. Just because she was… well… I'm just going to say it. She was totally, unbelievably _hot_. Don't get me wrong, I don't like, _like _her or anything, it's just she was really _really_ good looking.

Seven was nothing special. A couple of average looking teenagers looking so scared they were about to wet themselves. It was funny in a way.

Eight was a chubby, scary looking fifteen-year-old boy, and a girl with crooked teeth.

Nine was a 17-year-old girl with light brown hair brushed into a sophisticated bun, and a fifteen year old boy with black hair swept over one eye.

Ten was two ragged looking skinny teens. The boy had rough skin covered in spots, whilst the girl had smooth skin, covered in freckles. The girl had ginger hair, the boy brown. Nothing special about either of them.

Eleven was a boy with tan skin and dark eyes. He looked _very _capable of murder. I decided to stay out of his way.

The girl was a different story. She was tiny. She was extremely short and looked very scared. Her smooth skin was dark and she had frizzy bordering on curly black hair. Her eyes were almost black, but they still did not even the slightest bit intimidating. An easy kill. Her name was Kyra.

But twelve looked almost familiar. The boy was olive skinned with grey eyes and dark hair. Typical seam.

But the girl stood out. She had blonde hair that looked like it had been once long. But now it looked like she'd hacked it off to just below her shoulder. Her face was hard and stony. It looked like a ghost of innocence had once been there, only to be replaced with cruel calculating coldness. Her eyes were blue, but bordering on grey.

She looked so dead inside, so angry. I longed to know her story. She was tall and thin. And despite the coldness inside she was beautiful. Even through her anger and pain and emptiness she was beautiful. She looked so familiar. I swear I've seen her before. But I just cannot place her face. And whilst wondering who she is, I manage to miss her name. I silently curse. I guess I'll have to find out for myself.

The presenters after have a lot to say about the girl from district twelve. Something about how unlikely it is, something about her sister, something about grief. I'm falling asleep. So I miss most of the commentary.

_And for some reason, I dream of flowers. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Luke's POV (Cato's brother)**

**Notice in this chapter how I say like instead of love. That might be annoying to some of you. But Luke is thirteen. So thirteen year olds say like instead of love. It's annoying but to make it more like he's a thirteen year old I say like. I'm sorry if that irritates you. There's not going to be much romance in this story so it shouldn't come up too much. **

It's the day we are going to arrive. Time to face the capitol. Time for interviews and glamour and glory. Time to make an impression. To stamp my image on the peoples mind. To make them notice. To finally make somebody notice. I smile into my pillow. The sunlight shines onto my pillow through the crack in my curtains. I stand and stretch.

And my door opens. I let out a yelp of surprise. I whip round to see Lana standing there, her eyebrows raised. I'm immediately aware of the fact that I'm wearing only boxers, and the ones that my aunt gave me, because they were the first one's I'd found. They happen to have Mickey mouse on them. Not exactly helping my image as a strong tough man. I go red and cover myself with my sheet.

'How did you even get IN HERE?' I yelp. She looks vaguely amused.

'I'm sorry, do they not teach you how to open doors that people have _left _slightly open in your house?' She asks, innocently.

'Why didn't you knock?'

'Because generally when people have their light on and are talking to themselves subconsciously, they _aren't_ standing stationary in the middle of a room half naked for no apparent reason'.

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I changed the subject.

'Why are you here?'

'To tell you that breakfast is in half an hour.'

'Yeah, right. I _think _I know when breakfast is after having stayed on this train for more than five days. Thanks very much. It's inanhour_ for your information.'_

I say, acidly, still embarrassed at losing an argument to her.

'Well I hate to burst your cocky bubble but it's at a different time today because we're arriving at the capitol. So go get some trousers on.' She says, just as acidly.

I'm starting to think it's impossible to win an argument with her. I'm at a loss for words, _again. _

'Oh yeah,' she says, 'we're meant to help get the equipment down to the training hall at the capitol this afternoon. Be ready.'

'Oh sweetie,' I say, 'don't strain your pretty little arms trying to lift big heavy stuff. Leave it to the men. It's a mans job'.

She glares at me. I don't know what I said wrong. My mum and sister would have been thrilled at my display of manliness. And how sweet I am to consider woman's feelings.

'Just be there.' She spits. And turns to leave. But as she's leaving she half turns round, and grins evilly.

'Oh yeah, your right. It's a _mans _job. Only _manly _people can lift stuff. Yeah all those real men who wear Mickey Mouse boxers. Yeah, those are _real men.'_

And she turns to run away, laughing. I notice with annoyance that I _really _like her laugh. And when she smiles her hidden beauty comes out to play. But I don't like her. I don't like her. I keep telling myself that.

But it's really hard to ignore the way she flicks her hair out her face at breakfast. The way she so easily has a joke ready. How funny and sarcastic she is.

When we arrive I walk behind her. She moves in a nice way. I notice the way she talks. It's nice and soft. I notice the way she looks at me with complete distain. She looks pretty with that look on her face.

While we are moving the equipment to the training gym she is leaning against a box in her break. The guy from district one comes and starts chatting her up. He's a creep. _But I don't like her. _I keep telling myself that over and over again. But seeing him flirt with her makes me _really _uncomfortable. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if I liked her… _I don't like her. _It's getting harder and harder to tell myself that.

The district one guy is still talking to her. And I realize suddenly that what I've been telling myself is a lie.

_I like her. Like really like her. _

The guy says goodbye, and she looks at him, a slight smile on her face. I tell myself that's just my imagination.

_Because if she likes him, then how can she like me? _


	5. Chapter 5

**Luke's POV**

It's the night after the parade. Where we were paraded around, to show off our districts. The night that we had to make an impression. We were dressed in the colours of stone. Lana looked amazing. She literally took my breath away. And she didn't even notice.

The girl from twelve was dressed in black. Like soot. But a thin trail of smoke and flame had fanned out behind her. She looked beautiful scary and mysterious all at the same time.

I still don't know her name. And I am still fascinated by her. I don't really remember any of the other districts costumes. They were all so similar. It is very confusing. It makes your head hurt after a while, trying to remember them all. So you just learn to forget. Forget that if you become friends with any of them, remember them, know them too well; it's going to hurt so much more to kill them. That's how I have to live.

I sit on my bed, staring out at the view I chose. It is of a meadow with flowers dotted in it. I don't know what possessed me to choose it. It just seems like it gets me closer to understanding something. I don't know what though. That's the infuriating part. I suddenly feel homesick. I miss everything back home. And tears spring to my eyes, but I don't know why.

There is a soft knock at my door.

'Come in'. I say, thickly through my tears. Lana appears at my door. I frantically try to wipe away my tears. It doesn't work.

'Hey.' She says softly, sitting down next to me.

'Hi'.

'You miss it back home. Don't you?' I have no idea how she instantly understands my emotions. But I don't feel like questioning her. Not today.

'Yeah. I do. This isn't what I thought it would be'.

'That's because the camera only picks up the bit's that you want to see. It's the way the world works. You just have to deal with it.'

She talks so gently, so differently to her usual sarcasm. It takes me off guard.

'But maybe sometimes I just can't deal with it.'

'That's why life is such a jerk. You think you have it figured out, under control. And then it throws you something you have no idea how to comprehend.'

I realize that she truly understands what I feel.

'And how does that make you feel?' I ask, through the tears.

'Like this.' And then she takes my hand, and I lean against her. My tears subside. Night is beginning to fall. I don't ever want to leave her side. She eventually leans away. And looks at me.

'When life gets you down, it feels like your never getting back up. Promise me something. Always keep getting back up. Don't do what I did. Don't let life hold you down till you feel like it's not worth living any more.'

She gets up to leave.

'The interviews are in two hours. Make sure you're ready.'

She starts to move through the door.

'Lana, wait.' She turns to look at me. 'I promise.'

She looks at me once more, and then just walks away.

Then I realize that I let my emotions show. I can't afford to let that happen. So I think of all the murder I'm sure to commit soon.

_And I force myself to smile. _


	6. Chapter 6

**Luke's POV**

I sit in the chair and stare out at the huge audience in front of me. It overwhelms me. It's hot and noisy and I wish everybody would just stop staring at me. But I force my self to smile. That fake smile I do to cover my real feelings. Nobody notices. It's the day of the interviews. I'm sitting on a big squishy chair next to Ceaser Flickerman. He says hello. I nod my head. It feels almost surreal.

'So what were you thinking when you volunteered?' he asks. For some reason this catches me off guard.

'Uh, well truthfully I was thinking how pretty the girl who was originally reaped was.'

I have no idea why I said that. But as I was saying it I realized it was true. I don't mention that I was also staring at Lana up on stage. I realize the audience is laughing. I don't _think_ that's a bad thing…

'So on that topic, you got anybody special back home?'

I suddenly know what to say.

'Sort of. But when I first met her I was kind of a jerk to her. It's complicated.'

'So what is she like?'

'Out of my league. Completely. Dark hair, blue eyes. Her smile makes you feel like nothing could possibly be wrong with the world. Nothing. She shines brighter than every single star in the sky, she looks at me and my insides just turn to jelly. Her name is…'

And then I look off stage for just a split second. She's there. Not listening to this interview. Talking to the guy from district one. The screen playing my interview is being ignored. Her blue eyes are shining as she looks up at him. He brushes back her hair from her face.

She tilts her head upwards to look at him. They look so perfect. He leans in. She leans in. And suddenly their lips meet. And they stay there forever. And when that forever ends, she smiles at him. Her head on his chest. They stay in that embrace. And I can see how happy they are. But I don't care. Because she's _meant _to be happy with _me. _

My heart burns. Suddenly I am empty inside. I feel no love. No sympathy. Nothing. Just pain. Pure undiluted pain tears come to my eyes but I force them back in.

'You know what, it doesn't matter anymore.'

And then he's telling me my interview is over. That I did well. And I'm running off stage, tears still forming in my eyes. I rush past them. She looks up for a moment, puzzled. And then settles back down into his arms. And I'm just invisible to her. So I might as well not feel. And when I think of going into the hunger games, going to murder those people…

_Through my tears I smile. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! Thanks so much for reading my story, and thanks to my awesome reviewers! So read and review, because I'm one of those people who will start gangnam styling around the house when I reach like 5 reviews. Can we get to ten? I think we can! **

**Luke's POV**

It's time. Time to show them what I can do. Time to make them take notice. Time to make Lana sorry for everything. Time to go into the hunger games. Time to shine.

I stand by my bed. I've just woken up. I'm in my boxers. This time they're not Mickey Mouse. I stand in front of the black punching bag. I think of how they kissed. Think of how much I liked her. Think of the hurt. And begin the pummel the bag. My fists make contact with a wonderful sound. Like a skull cracking. My knuckles are already bruised.

But I just keep going. I'm covered in a sheen of sweat, my muscles working harder than they have ever worked before. With each blow I imagine a different person. Mum. Dad. The guy from district one. Lana. I realize I'm crying. I don't care. I'm bleeding. I take no notice.

All I care about is hitting that bag. Smashing it. Hurting anybody who ever hurt me. Because they deserve the pain. The heartache. They deserve it all. Every word they ever used against me they will regret. Because when I emerge a victor, their bodies will lie broken around me. And then I will laugh. Laugh with a sadistic, ecstatic happiness that I have never felt before.

I think of that girl my brother killed. I will kill everybody with that level of brutality. With a lusting for blood, a need to watch them crumple to the floor and bleed their life away. Then I will be truly happy. I hear the door open, but I don't care. I keep pummelling that bag. Hoping that it feels the pain. I realize that whoever came in is standing and watching me. So I turn and glare. And suddenly I feel like beating that bag even more.

Lana stands there watching with eyes full of pity and knowing and a strange hollowness. She doesn't deserve to pity me.

'Get out.' I spit.

'You've been broken.' She says, quietly.

'I don't know or care what you mean. Now GET OUT.'

'Something has crushed you. Taken out the last bits of your soul. I don't know what, but it has hurt you deeper than anything. Insanity has finally found you.'

I realize she's on the brink of tears. I don't know why she would be, it's not like she cares. She carries on speaking.

'You have loved, and lost. But you know your love didn't hurt you on purpose, they just fell in love with somebody else. Do not blame them. blame your own fickle heart.'

'YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING. YOU DON'T GET IT. NOW JUST GET OUT!'

She looks up then, and realisation floods into her eyes.

'It was me. You fell in love with _me_.' She says quietly. The look in my eyes tells her the answer.

'But not anymore. I don't feel anything anymore. And I have to thank you. Because now I can kill you with no guilt.' I say.

'I'm sorry, so, so sorry. I never even knew. Give me a chance to make it right, please. If I'd known, I wouldn't have… I'm sorry. I fell in love, with the wrong person. Forgive my heart. It's not my fault for loving.' She whispers, her voice breaking.

'No. Forgiveness is not what I do. Now get out.'

'You cannot choose where you heart decides to wander Luke. Know only that.' And then she turns to walk away.

And I return to slamming my fist into a punching bag. Waiting for the moment when it all matters. Waiting to avenge myself.

_Waiting to make an impression. _


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 (I think….)

**Hi guys! Sorry, I haven't updated in a while, been busy with stuff. Anyway 12 reviews? Was so friggin happy, you have NO IDEA. Thanks to all my reviewers, it means so much to me when people take time to review. A special thanks to vampirevampirevampire for reviewing SIX times. And also to thegirlonfire127 for being generally awesome and reviewing and just being a great person. She is also an AWESOME writer, so go on her profile, read her stories. The Taylor swift hunger games especially. Even if you don't like T-swift, it's just an amazing piece of writing. She's thinking of stopping writing it, HELP ME CONVINCE HER NOT TO. It's just too good to stop writing. **** So here's the link: **** s/8940924/1/The-Taylor-Swift-Hunger-Games**

**Read this story and REVIEW, and then read her story and be blown away by how awesome it is. ;) Anywayz, I'm rambling. READ ENJOY AND THEN REVIEW. (Or not, It's not like I can force you to, lol. )**

**Lukes POV **

I stand on the podium, breathing hard. This is it. A voice is counting down from 60. I hardly hear it. All I can hear is my own breathing, my own heart beating. All I see is my opponents. And all I think is all the ways to take them down. Friends are not an option in the arena. Friendship only leads to death. As does love. So when I look at Lana, all I see is an object that I know I must destroy. I smile. Time to shine. Time to show them who I am. Time to feel the blood on my hands.

I stare round at the people around me. That little girl, Kyra, I think, is shaking. I stare right at her, trying to judge how to kill her, how weak she really is. She is smaller than any of the other tributes, and even though her eyes are black as hells fiery pit, she could not look less intimidating. An easy kill.

As I stare round everybody avoids my gaze. I know that my stare is a cold blank one. And nobody doesn't feel its effect. My gaze finds the district twelve girl. Her cold blue eyes bore into my soul. She doesn't look away. Neither do I. She is impossible to read, all I see is a cold impartial mask, and suffering. And so much anger. And it feels like she's staring into my soul. Judging me. And for the first time in my life, _I'm the first one to look away. _

I swear to myself that I _will _be the one to kill her. I know it will bring me so much glory and satisfaction. Because _nobody _makes me lose. _Ever. _The countdown reaches ten.

_This is it._

9

_I know I must win. I long for blood on my hands. _

8

_I feel the tension among everyone in the arena. We know from now it's life or death._

7

_I wonder how it feels to kill. To watch a body go limp at your hands. _

6

_I'm pretty sure it feels good. _

5

_I swear I must win. I must show that I am so much more then just my brothers reflection. _

4

_I take a deep breath._

3

_My heart pounds against my chest. _

2

_I begin to stand._

1

_I'm standing now. _

0

I leap off the podium,

_And begin to run. _

….

**So sorry about how short and kinda boring this chapter was, kinda had a bit of writer's block. Hopefully the next chapter will be better, as I actually have an idea for it for once. :0 Thanks to my awesome reviewers! I'd like to get to twenty reviews soon. Can we do it? I think we can. C'MON LETS DO DIS TING. Uhh, *****cough cough* that was slightly embarrassing… just review please. ;) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Hey guys! 20 reviews. Wow, just wow. No words to describe how awesome that made me feel. You guys are just the best. Literally. Thanks to all my reviewers and apologies for the short chapters. Please review and tell me what you think! **

**Lukes POV**

My heart pounds with my thumping feet. Adrenaline courses through my eager veins. I don't know where I'm going. I just know that I love every moment of getting there. Then I realize I'm not heading to the bloodbath. I'm running away from the fighting, away from the glory. _Away from winning. _

But my heart tells me to keep on running. Run to the forest. But I've learnt not to listen to my heart. All it's ever given me is pain. And pain is nothing but a distraction. But it demands to be felt all the same. I force my feet to stop, to turn the other way, and run back. But all my deepest inner instincts are screaming _run away. _

I'm so confused. I know I want to kill. Or do I? Nothing seems right. The world is spinning. Suddenly I'm having doubts. The line between right and wrong is coming into focus. And I don't like what it shows me. But it's too late to turn back. Too late for doubts. _Too late to change the past._

I have reached the cornucopia. I stand in the middle of children bleeding, screaming, _and dying. _Bodies fly everywhere. The canon blasts in my ears. But it all seems far away. Muffled. Dull. It doesn't affect me. All I see clearly are the weapons, and the weak points of those around me. All those people, living, real people. Are just moving targets to me. But that makes me uneasy for some reason. Like it might be wrong. But all I've ever been taught tells me this is how it should be. I feel sick and dizzy. But I force myself to carry on.

I clamber over bodies, and weapons and blood. Until I find a knife. And a backpack. And all I'm going to need. I feel a presence behind me. Without thinking I turn, knife in hand. And plunge it into the person behind me. I have enough time to see a small body, dark bright eyes going dull, a tear on the face of a dying child. Before it is falling away to the ground. That girl, Kyra. That small innocent girl. Lying dead because of the hand, which held the knife. All because of the arm that held that hand. And the person attached to that arm. _Me._

For a moment I feel a pang of something approaching regret. But I shake it off. Just one more down, one less to go. But I can't get the way her eyes went dull out of my head. Can't stop hearing the cannon fire. Can't stop seeing the blood. I shake my head to clear it and let out an uneasy laugh. I have to show them that I am not afraid. Even if inside I am. It's how I have to be to survive this. That much I know. So no matter what I must keep going. Act forever strong. Emotionless. Heartless. It's better that way.

My hand is covered in sweat around the hilt of the knife. I swing a backpack onto my shoulder. And try to block out the screams that fill my ears. The screams of people dying. Children. Slaughtered for a game. But this is all I know, all anybody ever taught me. What people told me was right. So why does it feel so wrong? I tighten my grip on the knife. My hand is shaking so badly I can hardly hold the knife. I take a deep breath. And start to run to the forest. I have everything I need by now. I don't feel like I need to fight in the bloodbath if I already have what I want. So I just run.

I run till there's nothing left. Till all emotion is gone with the drumming of my heart and the pounding of my feet. Till all that's left is the feeling of the wind on my face, only adrenaline coursing through my veins. By now I'm in the forest. I lean against a tree, and slide to the floor, my face in my hands. I'm breathing hard. And suddenly I'm crying. And I have no idea why. Everything I've known has suddenly flipped upside down, right turns to wrong before my eyes. All I can see is eyes going dull, bodies, blood all I hear is that cannon. Drowning out a million screams. It hurts.

I feel a hand pinning me to the floor. Hear a knife being drawn. My eyes are still closed. I open them slowly. This is it. The moment I die. Pinning me to the ground is the district twelve girl. Screams echo in the background.

'Do you hear it?' she asks softly and coldly.

'Hear what?'

'The sound of people dying. The sound of pain and grief and heartbreak? Can you hear them? Hear the cries of a million lost souls? '

'_No.' _


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

**Ok, So I ended pretty dramatically last time. So this is where you meet prim (obviously) and in the next few chapters it will change to her POV. This chapters in Luke's PV though. So… READ AND REVIEW. ;) **

**Luke's POV**

I lie there. And listen to her words; study the empty pain of her eyes. She looks so sad, so empty, and so cold. This is how I'm going to die. Pinned to the ground, helpless. So it's all I can do to be defiant. At least for now. So I lie.

'No. All I hear is the sound of one more person hitting the ground. Bringing me one step closer to victory.'

'But dying is not winning, yet hear you are. Pinned to the ground, breathing your last breaths.'

'I can't die.'

'Why?'

'Because living is all I'm good at. Please. Please I don't want to die. I don't want to go. Please.'

I'm pleading now. I'm beginning to cry. It wasn't meant to happen like this. I was meant to win. And if I was going to die I wanted to go heroically, fighting till the last moment. Not crying and screaming and pleading. I was meant to be defiant, and strong. But it's all I can do to plead. To ask this cold being if she has a shred of empathy left. But she does not. That much I'm sure of.

'You deserve to die. This is a game where it's kill or be killed. So why should I let you live?'

'Out of kindness. Out of pity. Out of any emotion you can think of. Please. Just let me live. Please.'

I'm still sobbing out of terror and sadness and the wave of emotion that washes over me.

'But because of somebody so close to you, because of people like you, who enjoy death and pain and suffering, I am ridden of all emotion but pain and bitterness.' Her voice drops to a whisper, it sounds like she's trying not to cry, 'Life is cruel, ironic and mocking. So very mocking. All because of you and your family, their deeds, you will die today. The world mocks us. We're better off dead. Trust me.'

'But what if I enjoy life? What is I like the sound of the birds singing?'

She is no reacting. Just coldness behind her eyes. But I'm too far in to stop.

'What if I like the shit life gives us? Like the crazy pain of being in love. Like the way the wind blows. What if I like watching the flowers bloom and blossom them wilt? What if I like the taste of roots? Like the way the trees grow. Like the way that that root grows, how it's so hard to find, so useful. I forget its name. What if I want to be useful? What if I feel like I haven't had a chance yet? No chance to bloom with the flowers. '

My voice cracks.

'What if I want to live?'

Her eyes soften and brim with tears. She looks at me, with grief and agony and emotion.

'Katniss.' She whispers. 'They're called katniss.'

And she stands and walks away. Just leaves me there. And walks away. Tears running down her face. She spared my life. Saved me. And now I'm watching her walk away. And I know nothing about her. I find my voice.

'Wait!' I croak.

She turns.

'Who… who are you?'

'Primrose. Primrose everdeen.'

I begin to call out. Pieces falling into place like in a puzzle. I suddenly understand. I have to talk to her.

But she is gone. Lost in the shadows of the forest. Like water slipping through cupped hands. Gone with no more than a whisper. And suddenly one word comes to mind. About me, about her, about how I feel now and how she must feel every day.

_Alone. _


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Hey guys! I just cannot believe how amazing all my reviewers are. You guys are literally amazing. Like the best. I love you guys. I've got some basic ideas for where this is going, but any ideas or thoughts you have on it would be great to hear, so just review. Can we get to 30 reviews? I hope so. :) **

**Prims POV**

Night has fallen. And still I run. It's all I can do to run. Run away from the murder. Run away from the sick twisted games. Run away from the strange boy with so much hidden inside. Just run. I think I'm going to be sick. The world is spinning. I stop and lean against a tree and sink to the floor. My heart pounds.

_I almost killed him. _Me. I almost killed a person. Somebody who did nothing to me. Because I was so angry, so full of an irrational, burning rage wanting to get out. I can't stop seeing the way he looked. The terror in his eyes. Can't stop remembering the feel of the knife in my hands. I'm shaking. Tears start to spill onto my cheeks. My breath mists in the air. This is not what I thought it would be. I thought I could just hide behind the barrier I built for myself, so I could be cold. Just… kill. Not think about it. But at the first hurdle it crumbled to dust.

I know I'm going to die. Right here. In this arena. Because here it's kill or be killed. And I'm not a murderer. At least not now. I've heard the arena changes you. Brings out the worst and pulls you into the shadows. Maybe by the end I will have felt a body go limp at my hands. _But not if I can help it. _

I don't want to open my eyes. Because when I do I'll see the arena. I'll see where I am. With my eyes closed some part of me can pretend it's all ok. That nothing can hurt me. That I'm safe. Even when I'm in the most danger I've ever been in. But when that comforting darkness creeps over me, it's all better. I'm still crying. Then I hear a twig snap.

My eyes open straight away and I spin around. A girl stands in front of me. She looks about my age, maybe a bit older. And in her hands are two long blades. She looks at me with a strange coldness in her eyes. But at the same time they look as if they pity me. She takes a step closer and I see her more clearly.

The moonlight bounces off her shoulder-length brown hair. Her eyes are a greeny-blue. She glares at me, weapons raised.

And then she springs forward. Pinning me to the ground. And brings her weapon to my neck. She looks so sad for a moment. And then she whispers,

'I'm so sorry'.

She's about to draw the blade across my neck, when I start to speak.

'What's your name?'

She looks surprised for a moment.

'Lily.' She says. Her voice is soft, but has a sharp edge to it.

'Lily. Do you have a family?'

Confusion crosses her face making her nose crinkle slightly.

'Yeah. Yeah I do. I have a mum, a dad and a sister- Ellie.'

'And do they care about you?'

'Yeah. They're the best. I miss them.' She looks so sad now.

'How does it feel? Having a family? Having somebody to care for you? How does it feel?'

'I- I don't understand.'

'Kill me. Kill me now. Win. Go on; go back to your family. I don't have anybody waiting for me back home. Nobody will miss me. Go on. Kill me.'

As I say it I realise it's true. She deserves to win. Her family shouldn't feel the grief that I did.

'No.' she says, slowly backing up. Tears in her eyes. 'If I go back, I'll be a murderer. That's not what I want.' She breaks down.

'All I wanted was a normal life. I wanted to grow up. I wanted to spend my life with my family, and my dog. I wanted to fall in love, get married. I wanted a life. But not like this. Never like this.' She whispers.

'But they deserve to get you back. It's not fair. Not fair that you have to kill. Not fair that you're here.' I say.

She smiles sadly. 'But that's just it. Life's not fair. I'm not going to come out of this. Not alive anyway. I never wanted to kill. I wanted to leave this life as an innocent. But that's not possible anymore.'

I look at her tear stained face, and she looks at mine.

'Then lets go together. Lets leave this life innocent. Because if neither of us want to kill, then lets die innocent. Together.' I whisper.

'What do you mean?'

'Allies. Until one of us leaves this world. Agreed?'

She smiles through her tears.

'Agreed.'

For the first time in a year I have a friend. Somebody to talk to. Somebody who I can laugh and cry with. She helps me up. And as we walk deeper into the forest, I remember where we are.

_Somebody to die with. _


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys!**

**Thanks so much to my awesome reviewers; I love you guys. I mean 28 reviews. Just too amazing you guys :)**

**This is one of those really really annoying chapters with no actual story writing in them but I just wanted to apologize for not updating that much lately. **

**School work and stuff means that I won't be updating much, but I will still be updating. **

**And also I wanted to say that if we get 30 reviews the 30****th**** reviewer gets a special shout out. And if by some freak of nature I get more than that the 35****th**** and 40****th**** also get a shout out. :)**

**Sorry for not updating that frequently but school is more important. **

**Thanks guys**

**-izzthewolf**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 (if you count the chapter with no story writing as a chapter XD)

**Hi guys! Ok, first things first, you guys are all to amazing to be real. And as promised here are the shout outs: **

**30****th**** reviewer: LightBlueRoses – ****Thanks so much, you are so amazing :) hey guys go check out LighBlueRose's stories. You won't regret it :) **

**THE GIRL ON FIRE 127- ****She is one of my besties, an amazing author AND has a character based on her in this story. And she took the time to read my story and review. So go check out her story guys. Oh yeah, and about that whole being on fire thing, you may wanna get that checked out, that CAN'T be healthy… XD **

**and I'm SO sorry for not updating for a while, 1) I've had serious writers block and 2) I've been really busy lately. Sorry :( **

**But here goes:**

**Prims POV **

The golden rays of sunlight shifting through the branches of the trees are like a sledgehammer repeatedly ramming into my head. I haven't slept all night. My eyes wearily adjust to the dim morning light. I'm lying in the soft long grass at the top of the hill. And as much as I hate to admit it, the arena looks beautiful in this light. The rising sun turned the sky red. Crimson as the last stars retreat into the darkness. The long grasses wave in the slight wind, the lake sparkles.

_Eugh. _

Suddenly all my previous thoughts repulse me. What am I, a poet? That arena is the place where twenty-three children will _die. _And most likely where _I _will die too. It's not _pretty. _It's not _beautiful. _It's an open grave. The sun has almost risen now. The sky is a pinkie- yellow colour. I try not to think about it.

I hear Lily shifting as she wakes up behind me.

'Morning.' I say.

'Morning' she yawns as she rubs the sleep out of her eyes.

'How come you're up so early?' she asks me.

'Oh. Because _somebody _snores worse than an elephant with a tiger stuck in its trunk.'

'Oh, sorry' She says, grinning sheepishly.

Silence falls for a few minutes. But it's not awkward. We're both staring at the arena. Thinking the same thing. '_Is today the day we die' _And I know that she's trying not to think about how beautiful it looks too.

'Its not fair that it looks like that. I can't stop thinking how beautiful it looks.' She says.

'Lets play a game.' I say suddenly.

'What?'

'Lets play a game. It'll help us stop thinking of this as beautiful, and take our mind off things. Come on. '

'Oh- kaay… what do you suggest?'

She's staring at me like I'm crazy.

'Ok. So have you ever played that game where you add a word to make a story?'

She nods.

'Well,' I continue, 'it's a bit like that. But the first person says a sentence, and the other person ends it.'

'Ok.' She starts smiling 'Ok, yeah. I'll start.'

'The sky was the colour of…'

'Cat sick.' I finish off. We both start laughing then. When we've pulled ourselves together I begin.

'The grass waved like…'

'Snakes with worms coming out of their arses.' She finishes, grinning.

For the first time since my sister died, I realize that I'm actually enjoying myself. We talk well into the morning, before we decide we should move camp.

We come to a cluster of caves. Its evening and the sky is the colour of blood. Throughout the day we'd tried to block out the sounds of the cannon firing, but in the silence that the evening brings the cannon sounded louder than ever. And I find myself fearing for everybody else. Feeling the pain of the family who just watched their own child die a painful death.

As the stars come out I take in a breath of crisp cold air and turn away as the anthem plays. I don't want to see the faces of the dead projected into the sky, for a sick game. I realize there are tears in my eyes. My breathing becomes more and more uneven and I turn away even more and roughly wipe the tears away. Suddenly I feel lily's hands on my shoulder. And I turn to her and I realize she understands. And then she reaches over and tries to take the bottle of water I'd filled up at the stream. I just look at her for a moment, for a moment I am filled with anger. All she needed to do was be there. And she does that. Wow. Just… wow.

'Woah, you have the BEST bitch please face I've ever seen.' She says.

'You are _not _good at this.' I comment, trying hard not to grin.

'What the whole emotional shit thing? Yeah… I've been told I'm not great at that.' She says sheepishly.

I'm grinning now. I can't help it. It's hard to stay angry with her. So I sit and watch the faces go by in silence, silently paying tribute to them.

A girl with dark black hair's face comes up. I recognise her as the district two girl. And I remember the way the boy from her district fell in love with her, no matter how he tried to hide it. I'm good at reading people. His love for her was painfully obvious. I wonder if he's staring up at the sky and feeling the pain. I feel his grief. I know what its like. And as the anthem plays again and I turn into our cave I whisper,

'_She's with my sister now. She's with the angels.' _

And then blackness envelops me. And the last thing I hear before sleep embraces me is the gentle snoring in the background, and muffled sobs from somewhere far away.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Hi guys! I now have more reviews then I EVER thought I'd get. Thank you so much. Here's one of the promised shout outs,**

**richards25- ****thank you so much, you are my 40****th**** reviewer. Check out his story guys :) **

**so yeah, thanks for reading my story so far, You guys are amazing, thank you. So here goes:**

**Prims POV **

I wake up to the sound of a cannon blast. _Another one down. _Including lily only eleven tributes remained. My death day is getting closer. I am under no illusion that I can win. I know I'm going to die. But I don't voice this. Instead I turn to lily and poke her firmly in the cheek. She stirs and mumbles,

'Whazza time, I dunwanna wake up, go away.'

'Lily' I say, prodding her harder

'noooo, go back to donkey land, but donkeys cause leukaemia.'

'umm, lily?'

'DON'T TOUCH THE GOATS.' She yells as she sits bolt upright. I stare at her.

'Hi.' She says cheerfully, rubbing her eyes. She's sitting cross-legged.

'Um, goats?' I ask.

'Whaddya talking about?' She laughs

'Don't touch the goats?'

'Is somebody going a little bit insane?' she laughs.

'Umm, do you by any chance sleep talk?'

'Oh yeah, I've been told I do.'

'Did you by any chance dream about goats last night?'

'WOAH, THAT'S CREEPY. HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW THAT?' she almost yells as she scrambles away from me.

'Calm it, you were sleep talking. I'm not physic. What you were saying made no sense though.'

'What did I say?' she asks, inching closer, still looking freaked out.

'Umm, don't touch the goats. And something about donkeys causing leukaemia.'

'How does that make no sense? Donkeys DO cause leukaemia. And coming into close contact with goats causes cancer. Gosh, what _do_ they teach you in biology?'

She genuinely looks serious.

'Are you kidding?'

'No…'

'_Seriously?' _I say in disbelief. How is she this stupid?

'Yes.'

But this time I look up and she's grinning.

'You had me thinking you were that stupid there.' I say laughing.

'Yup, I know.' She grins.

'I'll get you back for that.'

'I have no doubt that you will.'

We begin to pack up our stuff, but as we're about to leave we hear voices. And footsteps coming louder and louder. We both wordlessly melt into the corners of the cave we are in. My heart thumps furiously in my chest. Lily is breathing very heavily. Too heavily.

'_Do you have to breathe so loud?' _I hiss.

'I'm sorry, is my breathing offending the little princess?' She whispers sarcastically. I stifle a laugh. But my laughter is short lived. They are getting closer. And closer. They are so close that we can hear their exact words.

'Is there anyone in that cave'? A girls voice says. She's uncomfortably near.

'Well if there is they're of no threat. There are no careers left other than the ones in alliance with us, that district one guy and the district four girl. We can take them.' A deep male voice says.

'We should check anyway.' A different girl's voice says. They are right outside now. The leaves and twigs that we put in the way of the entrance to make it look less obviously inhabited seem pathetic now. We should have done more. I hold my breath.

'Ok. Jamie go check.' Says a male voice. I can tell instantly that he's the leader.

'I'm on it. You guys go on and check the other caves, I'll meet you there.'

I glance at lily. Her face has suddenly drained of colour. She looks more panicked then I have ever seen her. There is no trace of the usual humour or sarcasm or downright craziness that usually covers her face left. All that's left is sheer terror. And a strange sadness and longing. The leaves and twigs slowly shift away from the entrance, and light spills into the cave and banishes the shadows that were hiding us. A boy steps into the cave. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, and I recognize him as the district four boy. And suddenly it hits me. Lily's district partner.

He glances around he cave. And spot me. His eyes are triumphant. He opens his mouth to yell, but then his eyes fall across lily. And the sound stops in his throat. He looks at her. And she looks at him. There is something in the air between them. Some unspoken bond. And then he turns without another word. And walks away. I look at lily. Tears are forming in her eyes. She roughly brushes them away. And stares at the place where he stood. We hear his voice. I wait for the crowd of people to come tumbling in. But his words reach us.

'Nobody there. We should move on.'

He saved us. Well no, he saved lily. I turn and open my mouth to ask about him. But she cuts me off.

'Don't ask. Ok?' She says, her eyes hard and cold. Tears form in her eyes. I see pain there, and longing and so many hidden emotions.

'Just never ask. ' She whispers, her voice breaking. And so, without another word we walk.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi guys. So there's not going to be any story in this chapter, sorry. But I recently got a review that made me want to stop writing full time. **

**I look at the new review, and start reading. This is what I see:**

Guest 5/18/13 . chapter 14

This is fucking awful. the ideas terrible, the writings terrible and your grammar is fucking awful. Take this as advice, you should just stop. Seriously just stop burdening the world with this shitty pile of crap. You can't write, your not original, just stop it. It hurts me how bad this is. Seriously, how do you live knowing how bad you are at this? because surely you cant think that this is good. All those good reviews are just pity reviews. Your story isn't good. Face it. Your story is a pile of shit that you should just throw away and burn. You should just give up and stop writing. Seriously you suck.

**So. How great for my self-confidence is that? I try not to show it around people but I've always had quite a lack of self-confidence, I will never congratulate myself or think anything I do is particularly great. So that just killed me inside. I don't think people realize how much it hurts to see something like that. I mean I'll fake a smile and pretend not to care, but it really does hurt. If you want to criticize my story then go ahead. But just tell me what I could improve, or say it in a way that doesn't kill me inside. **

**But I guess that could've been advice, if my writing is 'burdening the world' then I might as well stop. I've tried very hard not to harm this world, so if this is a 'shitty piece of crap' then I may as well stop. **

**Don't think this is just a self-pitying-wallowing in my own pain- attention-seeking chapter. I just thought people should know how much words could hurt, so you don't hurt anyone else with careless words. The person who said**

'_**Sticks and stone may break my bones but words can never hurt me' **_

**Have obviously never had anything they've done called a 'burden on the world.' **

**So I just thought I'd let you guys know I may stop writing this story (well I probably will) if that's what you guys think, or at least not update for a while. **

**So, thanks to those who reviewed saying such amazing things, even if those were 'pity reviews', and sorry if you were actually enjoying my story (which is unlikely). This is probably goodbye from me, unless I decide that I'm strong enough to not care what people think. **

**So thanks for sticking with my shitty writing guys. Love you all. **

**See ya,**

**-Izzthewolf **


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**Guys, you have no idea how amazing you are. When I told you I was not writing the story any more, I got a flood of reviews and PM's overnight, all telling me that I can't let them get me down. **

**It just made me realise that one bad review is nothing. You guys make me feel so loved, and it's like I couldn't ask for anything better than the level of support you guys gave me. **

**And since so many of you asked me to keep writing, I don't want to refuse the people who stuck with me this entire time. And I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to reply to each of you individually, but since there were so many of you, and I've been so busy recently, I just wanted to show you how much your support means to me. **

**You guys made me smile while I was being a stupid overreacting bitch. So guys, thanks for making me see that by stopping writing I would've just been feeding the troll. You guys gave me the strength I needed not to care what that person thinks. **

**So here I am, announcing that I will indeed be continuing this story. You guys are the sole reason I'm doing this; the sole reason that I realized how much I was overreacting before. **

**You guys are the reason that I realized that when that person said 'it's a burden on the world'. Scribbles and pixels on a strip of white cannot burden the world. If my writings shit, I'm sorry. But I don't need someone to tell me that. You guys made me realize that it doesn't matter what that person says. **

**So thank you. You guys are the only reason I found to keep writing. Thanks for sticking with me. Love you guys. **

**-izzthewolf**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

**So sorry about all the messed up stuff where I didn't write, and sorry for not updating after I said I would, but here it is; the next update :) **

**Prims POV **

We walk in silence. Nothing breaks the silence till the sun starts to set. Well, nothing but the blasts of a cannon.

'We should set up camp.' Lily says, her voice trembling slightly. I just nod. I look at her, desperately searching her face for an answer, a clue, anything, as to what just happened. An answer to why that boy saved our lived. An answer to why her eyes are shining with tears. Just an explanation in a world gone mad. But I don't voice my question. If she's ready, she'll tell me. So all I can do is wait.

We watch, as the night sky turns black. Watch as the stars come out. Watch as a million fireflies fill the night. Shine in the darkness. And dance. Dance in the open air. And turn the stream next to us into a pool of sparkling light as the water takes in their reflections. I turn to lily and her eyes are sparkling. And not just with the reflection of the fireflies. With pure happiness, pure wonder.

'We had fireflies back home. We'd sit by the water and watch them, and just for a few sparkling moments, everything would be perfect. And silence would fall through the district. Every eye turned upwards. And nothing would matter anymore.'

She pauses, and her eyes fill with a slight sadness,

'But every moment always has to end.' She says, turning to me.

'I've never seen fireflies before. But I guess these aren't real fireflies. They're from the capitol.' I say, still transfixed by them.

Lily shakes her head.

'The capitol can't recreate this kind of beauty. These are real fireflies. I can just, tell.'

As the words leave her mouth I realize that she speaks the truth. So we just sit back and watch them dance. Watch them fill the night with their glow. Our breath mists in the crisp night air. But we just sit and watch.

And, of course, the moment is ruined by the sound of a harsh, cruel anthem. The fireflies scatter. Our heads turn upwards as the anthem finishes, and faces begin to appear.

The boy from district one. The boy from district nine. And finally, _Jamie. _

I turn to lily in shock. Her face is unreadable. The images fade, leaving the silence in the night as our only comfort. Darkness is all we can see. The fireflies are gone. The stream appears black.

'He saved our lives. And then gave up his.' Lily says, shock in her face as tears begin to form again.

I wait. I can sense she's about to tell me more.

'I was in love with him.' She says.

'He was crazy, wild reckless. He made me different, braver, and crazier. And I was never sure how he felt about me. But I'd look up, at him, and he'd already be looking at me. With the hint of a smile that drove me crazy. He'd just surprise m all the time, we used to flirt, and talk and I'd get lost in his eyes. And it just felt… right. But of course it wasn't all happy.' She pauses.

'He got involved with another girl. And he looked so happy with her. But she blew him off. He'd try to talk and she'd look at him like he was shit. And it hurt to see the light leave his eyes each time she put him down. And he kept going, kept at it. And it hurt so bad to see how in love with her she was. I was confused, hurt and still so unfortunately in love. And he was still the perfect boy he was before. I liked the way we had so much in common, I liked the way he thought I was dirty minded, because he was too. And every second I was alone, it took every thing in me not to run to him. And of course the girl broke his heart. She dumped him without a second thought.'

' And then I got my chance.' A ghost of a smile lights up her face. 'He ran to my house in the middle of the night. He told me how he felt about me. And it just felt right. We'd spend the evenings dancing by the lake while the fireflies shone. We'd sit and just stare. And I'd look at him and think, _my god he's beautiful. _And he'd flirt around, but he'd always come back to me, and show me that he cared.

It was good. There was just this fire inside of him, that couldn't help but shine through. But he was meeting me less often, the fire seemed duller, we hardly ever talked. He was always away. And one night he blew me off, and I went to sit by the lake alone to watch the fireflies. But he was there. I moved towards him, a smile on my face.

But then I saw the girl behind him. I just stood there, while he repeated everything he'd ever said to me, to her. Told her that she was the only one. Told her that her eyes shone brighter than all the stars. I felt so stupid. And he turned to me, and saw the tears pouring down my face. And he stared to move towards me. I just turned and ran. I had caught a glimpse of her before I ran. She was beautiful and her skirt was only covering a tiny amount of her bare thigh. And that was the moment I knew. He didn't give a damn. I should've known.'

She looks into the stream, tears pouring down her face.

'But I was still in love with him. He followed me home and waited outside on my doorstep till morning. He met me in the pouring rain and held me. He touched my face and told me he was sorry. That face of an angel. He told me that he loved me, and he'd do anything to see me through. And I might have believed him if I hadn't seen him with that girl. And I was angry. He made me think I knew who he was, and then he did something that made me want to believe that he was sorry. He wasn't sorry. He couldn't have been. I saw him break it off with the other girl. And tell me he wanted me back. I never forgave him. I was too damn stubborn. And then he went and saved my life. I never even told him that I was still in love with him. That I forgive him.'

She looks up at me, and then back down at the stream.

'I guess what we had, was a sad, beautiful tragic love affair. But I don't want it to be that. I want him back. To hold me in his arms. I need him. But it's too late. The shadows have killed his light.'

She's crying even more now. Her tears streaming down her face into the stream. She looks up at me with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

'Do you know something? I used to think that we'd tell the story of us. How we met and the sparks flew instantly. I thought we could get married. Have ten kids and teach them how to dream. But that was just wishful thinking. Just mindless dreaming. Because now the boy I love, the boy who had a smile that made everything that had me down not matter anymore, lies dead. Dead because of the capitol. Dead because of a sick twisted game.'

She looks at me, 'its not fair,' she whispers.

'_its just not fair.' _

**Sorry, that was a kind of boring long chapter, but I wanted to tie up the whole lily thing. Sorry I didn't make it as sad as I could've been, but I'm VERY tired right now. Also some of you may have noticed the song references in this chapter. I put those in for the GIRL ON FIRE 127 to see if she could spot them all XD **


	18. Chapter 18

**So hey guys! 73 reviews? You are too awesome. Love you all. So y11971alex brought to my attention the fact that I hadn't done a Luke POV chapter in a long time, so here it is, hope you like it :) And I'm SO SORRY for not updating. I'm also writing a collab right now and school work and stuff so, hopefully I'll update more soon :) **

**Luke's POV **

Time passed in a blur after the first murder. Things faded to the background, I passed by life in a muffled blur. Like a ghost. Not quite there. Just alone. The only part of my sanity left intact was taken by the hologram in the sky. Her face. That I would never see again. That I would never get the chance to forgive. To tell her that I'm still in love with her. But life's like that. Fair is the last word that comes to mind. No part of this is fair. Nothing. Other than the sweet coldness that her death has left me with. The only thing that keeps me alive in this game. The only thing that allows me to murder.

I sit under the night sky, surrounded by allies. And I flash back to the murder of the boy who lay here next to me a matter of days ago. Jamie. The flash of rage that consumed me when I killed him. When I realized he lied. That he saved the unworthy girl from his district. Just because he was in love with her. I cannot trust those in an alliance who would lie to me. I cannot trust anybody. Not anymore. Not here. So I put on the show. That this is what I want, that each body lying dead because of me gives me pleasure. I just pretend. Because I hope that if I pretend to myself that this is what I want to do, then maybe it won't hurt so badly. Maybe I'll start to believe myself.

I roughly wipe away the tears in my eyes. Tears are for the weak. I stare at the fire crackling beside me and lose myself in the light and warmth that it gives me as it dances. It doesn't shine half as bright as Lana's eyes. But then again Lana's dead now. So her eyes don't shine any more. Funny that. How one word, something so short, can take a light that shone so bright and just put it out.

Pft.

One little sound of death blowing out the candle. Then… nothing.

The gentle breathing of the people around me comforts me. Then I remember that I'm going to have to kill them all soon anyway. Oh well. Life's not fair. We all die anyway. I used to live by the quote,

'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.'

Now I live by,

'Life's a bitch and then you die.'

Less poetic and meaningful, but ten times more true. I hear a sound in the distance, hushed voices. Two girls. They sound young, defenceless. Easy kills. I wonder how they've lasted so long. They must be fast as hell. And good at hiding. But speed can only get you so far before you're caught. So I wake the others, and tell them. We form a plan.

_And we sit and wait. _

**I'm sorry it's so short, but writers block hit me and I just wanted to upload a chapter so you guys would know what Luke's up to nowadays. ;D **


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter ? I kinda lost count… XD

**I now have way more reviews then I EVER hoped to get. You guys are amazing. Ok, sorry for not updating in a long time, but here goes **

**Prim's POV**

Something feels wrong. Something in the air. Inside me I can feel something's about to happen. I tap lily's arm, and she jumps.

'Don't _do _that', she hisses

'Sorry. But do you feel it?' I say

'Feel _what?' _She says, annoyance in her voice.

'Something's about to happen. I know it.'

'You're just being paranoid. Snap out of it.' she says. I keep hold of her arm.

'Please. Let's stop. Let's just camp here'. I plead.

'Here? It's in plain sight. Just a little while and then we'll stop. OK?' She says, reassuringly.

I want to scream out that it's not ok. Do something to show her how I feel. But part of me thinks that maybe I'm just being paranoid. So I just keep quiet, even though I'm screaming out on the inside. I close my eyes and pray to god that my feeling means nothing. For a second I think I hear a hushed voice. But I just shake it off. We're nearing a clearing, and the coldness inside me is spreading through me, turning my blood to ice. My heart beats too loudly. Too fast. My breathing is loud in the cold night. The stars shine above me. And I take a step into the clearing, and pause. Waiting. Dreading.

_But nothing happens._

I feel my breath coming out my mouth in a loud exhale. It's just the arena messing with my head. I'm about to take another step, when something unnaturally cold presses against the back of my head. My heart freezes. As I turn a calm voice, edged with something dangerous. Something not right. Something that sounds a lot like insanity, it speaks.

'Don't try to escape.' It says. I turn and see the district two boy. The same boy who pleaded with me for his life, pressing his knife to my neck. Insanity and heartbreak clear in his blue eyes. I feel more people closing in around me, and I see lily being held in the same position as me, by the district six girl. The slight pressure of the knife is drawing a thin line of blood on her neck.

'Don't hurt her.' I hear myself saying. The district two boy snorts with slight laughter. I turn to him. And again I'm struck by the cold emptiness of his eyes.

'Aww, ickle friends.' He mocks. His allies laugh with him. He pushes me roughly to another boy, I think the district 11 boy.

'Tie her up.' He says, without a second glance. He slowly walks over to Lily, who's also being tied up. He stops before her, and tilts her chin up so she looks into his eyes.

'Lily, right?'

'Don't talk to me.' She says.

'Oooh. Feisty.' He taunts.

She glares at him.

'I don't like your attitude. Beg for my approval. Beg for it.' He says, the sadistic glee of the insane clear in his voice.

'How about no?' she spits. He raises a fist and hits her hard across the face. She falls, I hear myself cry out. She is pulled roughly to her feet.

'What about now?' he says. She spits blood onto the floor by his feet. Glaring at him with pure animal rage.

'Bite me.' She says.

'Still so defiant. But what if I told you about poor Jamie?'

She looks up, suddenly. Rage mixed with confusion and sadness is in her glare.

He continues,

'Aw, poor Jamie. So brave, so naïve, so in love. In love with you, wasn't he? Oh he thought he could lie to us. Thought that we wouldn't find out. But Jamie was bad. So he had to,'

He draws a finger across his neck, while the others jeer.

'He died for you. I killed him myself. Drew out his death, made it long, painful, humiliating. You should have been there to watch him beg. Should've seen the look in his eyes. I gave my friend here the joy of watching him dissolve in to a mess. Begging for relief. Crying. It was pitiful. And it was oh so enjoyable.'

I hear lily whisper something, I can't quite make it out. He continues.

'His last wish was something oh so, touching.'

'Don't hurt lily, oh please! I _beg _of you.' He mocks in a high pitched voice.

'But I've never exactly been _sentimental. _I have no quarrel with disregarding a dead boy's wish.'

Lily repeats what she said through tears, this time a bit louder.

'I'll kill you.' She hisses.

'I'LL KILL YOU.' She yells, her voice breaking as she struggles out of the grasp of her captor, snapping the rope around her wrists in her rage.

Then everything seems to happen at once. My bonds are severed by someone, Lily rushes at the boy and his allies try to catch her. The district one boy appears out of nowhere and people are rushing at him too,

_And then the people around me erupt into a writhing crowd, and begin to fight. _


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20- I remembered what chapter it was XD 

**Two updates in one day! :0 **

**Prims POV **

My hand reaches for a knife, and I push my way through the crowd of bodies, dodge the hands trying to snatch at me. Lily. I have to find her. A knife slashes at my back, I double over in pain. The district two boy leans over my bent form. He's grinning with the smile of a madman.

'Why hello again!' he says, his voice bright but filled with menace. He pins me to the floor. His nose in bleeding severely and he has a large cut on his forehead.

'Your friend over there needs to learn some manners. I only just escaped.'

'Where is she'? I spit.

'My friends have hopefully caught her by now. I told them to… take care of her.' He grins again, his blood splattering onto my face.

'Lily. LILY.' I yell out, turning frantically.

'It's so… touching how much you care about your friend. She's as good as dead now.'

I'm sobbing, like a baby. People are yelling around me, people are falling to the floor. They are blurred and muffled, but his face is so close to mine, I can see every feature sharper than anything. The features of a madman.

'Why?' I whisper.

'What do you mean, why?' He says, enjoying my pain.

'Why do you do this? That boy back then, the boy who pleaded with me for his life. The boy who was so obviously in love, what changed? Who are you? What happened to that boy back then? The one filled with hopes and dreams and aspirations?' my voice is cracking.

'_Life_ happened.' He says, filled with a sudden bitterness.

'Why do those I care about fall dead? Why does the world let me fall in love and then take the one thing keeping me sane away? And you can thank life for your death. It turned me into this. And the only way to get back at life is by taking it away from as many people as I can. So bye bye. Thanks for saving me back then, when there was still something left to save. See you in hell.' He spits at me, raising his bloody knife.

Something knocks it out of his hands. I catch a sight of startling blue eyes, and then the boy's tumbling away, wrestling for his life. I don't hesitate. I leave the boy from district two to his battle and race away, into the heaving mass of bodies. A canon fires, then another. I pray to my non-existent god, that if he's out there, if he's listening, please save her. Save lily. Let her live. I catch a glimpse of her brown hair, and the district six girl has her cornered, and is raising her knife. Rage fills me and I draw my own knife.

Without a thought the knife is in the girls back. My hand resting on its hilt. I see her eyes go glassy, her mouth a surprised 'o' shape. She falls to the ground, and a canon blasts. I gasp. I let go of the hilt and back away, I just took a life. The world spins too fast, my breath too loud. I feel like I'm going to collapse. Dead. Because of me.

I turn and run to the edge of the forest, more canons fire. The cool night air soothes my face. I lean against the edge of a tree, and throw up violently. I shiver and sink to the ground, and wait for the noise to fade. When it does I dare to come out. And five bodies lay motionless on the ground, face down.

I slowly walk and turn their cold, lifeless bodies over one by one, and study their faces. Four of them aren't lily.

I come to the fifth body. It's a girl, that's all I can tell by the darkness of the night. I take a deep breath,

_And turn the body over. _


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 

**Arg, writers block, but I just want to get to the end of this story, so I can start writing something else. Please review, please? Will make me very happy :3 Love you all xx **

**Prim's POV**

My heart pounds. I'm not sure I want to look down. I'm not sure I want to see that face, because what if it's her? What if it's lily? The only person I let my walls down for, the only person I dared to trust since Katniss died. It can't be her.

_The body moves_.

My hand flinches away. The person isn't dead. Yet.

'Prim.' It mumbles into the earth. My heart tears apart. I know that voice. _Her _voice. Lily manages to turn to face me. Tears spring to my eyes at the sight of her. Before I had some tiny fleck, tiny shining candle of hope that she might survive. That she might be OK. That she might live another day. Not anymore. Blood flecks her pale face, and she shivers.

'I'm here.' I whisper. Her hand reaches out and grasps mine, and squeezes tight as she looks right at me. Right through me. I can see she's trying to be brave. Trying not to cry. My tears splatter onto her. She weakly lifts her other hand to brush my tears away.

'Don't cry for me Prim.' She whispers.

'Crying makes it final. I'm not gone. Not yet. When I'm gone, tell my sister I love her.' She keeps her eyes on me.

'No. No don't say that. You'll be OK. You have to be OK.' I say, my voice breaking. But something deep inside me knows she's already gone. She carries on.

'Tell my mum I'm sorry. Tell her that I never meant to hurt her. Thank my dad. Thank them all. For everything.'

'You can't go. Don't leave me. Please. Please don't go.' I'm crying.

'You had dreams. You had goals. You deserve a life. You don't deserve to die. You don't deserve this Lily. Lily promise me you'll be OK.'

'Prim.' She says gently.

'NO. PROMISE ME. PLEASE. Please be OK.' My voice is cracking as tears pour down my face.

'Prim. It's too late. I'm already on my way there. I'm almost with him. Jamie. He'll be up there prim. Tell me he'll be up there.' Her face is shining with tears now.

'I don't want to go Prim.' She whispers.

'Please don't leave me. Please.' I hold her hand tight.

'Win for me prim. I never had my chance to leave my mark on the world. Leave it for me. Take them down. The capitol. Take them down. Because I won't be around to do it anymore.'

I can't say anything. There is a lump in my throat. I just nod.

'I love you prim.' She holds me tight.

'Don't forget me.' She whispers. I can see the light fading from her eyes.

'Never. Lily I will never forget you. Never.'

'Goodbye prim.' She whispers.

'Don't go. Not yet. Just a few more moments. PLEASE.' I break down again. She looks up, past me, and grins.

'The fireflies are dancing tonight Prim.' She whispers. Her hand grasps mine tighter. The fireflies flit around us, the stars shine. Tears pour down my face, as I mouth a goodbye. But the light leaves her eyes. Her breath stops, her grip relaxes.

'No. Not yet. Please no. Lily, wake up. Lily, tell me you're fine.' I try to hold her tighter, and her greeny eyes stare at the stars, and glaze over. A canon fires.

'Lily. Lily. Wake up. Don't be gone.' But part of me knows it's too late. Part of me knows that she's gone. But I don't want to believe it. She has to wake up. With that devilish grin, tell me this is all one big joke. And I'd try to be angry with her, but be too relived to see her. I'd hold her tight, tighter then I am now.

A gentle hand is placed on my shoulder. I turn around, tears streaming down my face. I don't care if it's my murderer. I'm already dead inside. Why not just end this quickly?

A boy stares back at me. His eyes a shining blue.

'It's too late. I'm sorry.' He says, gently.

'You're going to die if you stay here. Come with me. It'll be safer if we're together.' He finishes.

'Why should I trust you? Everything I trust crashes or burns or hurts me.' I get out through the lump in my throat. He just stares at me, with eyes filled with sadness and hope and… innocence. I gasp. Remember those eyes.

'You, you saved me.'

He smiles sadly.

'Why?' I breathe. He doesn't reply, just averts his eyes.

'So. Are you staying or going?' He says. I stand and walk towards him. But one step in I turn back. Look behind at her broken body. Her wide glazed eyes. The hint of a smile on her face. I break down again. I kneel next to her, and close those eyes. Because some part of me still hopes that she's just sleeping. Dreaming. But she'll never wake up. Just dream forever. I lean in, sobbing and hold her limp body in my arms.

'Heaven's gained an angel.' I whisper into her hair, my tears making her head damp. I lay her back down. And try to turn away. The sound of a hovercraft buzzes up above. Something breaks inside of me. She shouldn't be taken by the capitol. They don't deserve her. The craft descends. And slowly, roughly grabs her lifeless body.

'DON'T TAKE HER. DON'T TAKE HER. PLEASE. LILY. LILY!' I yell, my voice shaking. I run beneath the hovercraft, trying to make them see. Make them listen. But the wind drowns out my pleas, whips the tears from my face and my hair flies across my vision. My legs collapse and I'm left there, sobbing, broken on the ground. Crying out to a bleak world. The sky cries. Rain pouring over my body. Pouring as I cry. I hear footsteps and turn to see the boy. He puts his hand out, tears shining in his eyes, but not escaping. I take his hand and he helps me up. My damp hair slaps against my face in the wind. We walk away, our steps in sink. We don't say a word. Salty droplets run down my face as our steps thud away.

Away from where I killed a girl. Away from where the capitol sent their vessel. Away from where the body lay. And a thought pops into my head.

_I guess we're both just wilting flowers. _


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

**Woah guys. 83 reviews? That's just crazy. Thank you so much :) I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING, I WAS ON HOLIDAY. Please don't hurt me :3 so here is the long overdue chapter. So thanks for sticking with me. Please don't hate on me, I'm so tired right now. Jet lag. Ugh. So that's why this chapter is so sucky. :/ **

**Prims POV **

I woke up when the night's darkness was only just fading. The first beams of light were spreading themselves across the ground outside the cave we had taken shelter in. I glanced across and saw Daniel, as I had learnt the boy's name was, on the other side of the cave, softly snoring. Then it all came crashing back. Like a tidal wave, dragging me under and drowning me. I crawl out of the cave to watch the sunrise.

Even the birds hadn't awoken yet, it was peaceful and quiet. My choked sobs cut through the silence as the last few stars flitted out while the golden sun raised. Too many thoughts flooded through my head. How lily and me had sat, watching the sunrise. How we'd laughed and stayed up all night. How her last words won't stop replaying in my head, taunting me. I have to hold onto the little details. Because if I forget her, then I have nothing left. Nothing at all.

I take a deep breath, and try to stifle my sobs. Crying won't bring her back. I once heard a quote,

'_Life isn't about learning to survive the storm. It's about learning to dance in the rain.' _

But it's oh so hard to dance while you're already drowning. The birds are silent. They should be singing. But it feels like they're mourning her. And all the other pointless deaths that these games bring. They turned me into a murderer. That's something that will never change. I can never forgive them, never forget. I _will _bring them down. The capitol _will _fall. Even if it snatches my last breath from my lips, they _will _go down.

I know I must be strong. But knowing something is different from being able to do it. Reading about the technique of doing the hardest thing in your life you will ever have to do, is so different from doing it. And I'm so, so ashamed to say that right now, in this moment, I cannot stay strong. I'm broken. It takes time to mend something broken. So I sit and cry. Like a scared little girl. Like somebody who's lost everything that they had in two heartbeats. Because that's what I am. The trees don't dare rustle to disturb the quiet stillness of the morning.

I hear a slight rustle as Daniel took a seat beside me. On the bed of soft green grass. He looks at me, with those shining blue eyes. He moves his arm, as if to put around my shoulder, but awkwardly pulls back. It looks as if he has no idea what to do with crying girls, or girls, or people in general. That almost makes me smile. But almost isn't good enough. The sadness grabs me and pulls me back down. I curl up, bringing my knees to my chest, and cry into them. My whole body convulsing.

I feel his arm placing itself delicately around my shoulders. I turn in, towards him, and quietly cry into his shoulder. His arm feels good around my shoulder. Not in a romantic way, in the way that having another human near you, comforting you makes it a little more bearable. So we sit like that till the sun has banished the last flecks of darkness from the sky. We say nothing, just watch the sunrise. The tears dry from my face eventually, but I can still feel the crushing sadness killing me inside.

'We should move camps.' He says softly, as if gauging my mood. I nod my head and pull myself off the grass. We walk, together to the cave to pick up our few weapons and miniscule amount of food. Then we turn around and walk. Nowhere in particular. Just, away. We talk on the way. And I find myself opening up to him, just because he seems so honest, so straightforward. I learn things about him too. He's fourteen, has a brother and a sister. He dreams big, shoots for the stars. But his parents always drag him down. A single question keeps building in my throat. But he keeps saying things that I _have _to respond to. Eventually I just blurt it out.

'Why did you save me?' I say. He looks up suddenly, staring me straight in the eye. I can't look away, he holds me there. He smiles but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. He looks, almost, sad.

'You remind me of someone. I know it's stupid, and it may well have been my death sentence saving you. But some people just shouldn't die this young.' He looks at me, and ghosts of his past flicker in his eyes.

'But anyway,' he carries on, almost_ too_ quickly. 'The past is the past. No use dwelling on things that will never change.'

And we keep talking. But I swear I see him roughly wipe a tear from his face. And the faces of all those who didn't deserve to die flash through my mind. And I feel like curling up and crying. But a cold emptiness has filled my insides. Like the tears are building, but frozen so they can't escape. Cold, not-quite-release from the pain. And it's so much worse. I long for the warmth of home. My own bed. And a childish instinct in me wants my mum. Or my sister, or- _someone _to be there. And I turn and see the someone I need strolling through the bushes. Eyes too old for his face, too full of pain, knowledge and just a spark of _something. _He drinks everything in. Not missing a thing, and when he turns to me I swear he's looking right into my soul. And not judging me for it, even the tiniest bit.

He's not a knight in shining armour come to sweep me off my feet. He's not a lying scumbag who only gives to receive. He's just- _him. _

A friend.


End file.
